Why I prefer building in phases (even for small projects)

Even small projects get messy when everything is “must have”. I default to three phases:

• Phase 1 – Must have: the smallest version that delivers the core outcome. It ships fast and is stable enough to use.
• Phase 2 – Nice to have: quality-of-life improvements once Phase 1 is in production and we have feedback.
• Phase 3 – Experiments: ideas we only build if earlier phases show traction.

This reduces stress, keeps budgets in check, and protects scope. It also gives us real usage data before we double down. Most importantly, it sets a rhythm: ship → learn → extend, instead of guess → build → regret.